New Matterhorn ascension records

Text Christian BugnonDate of publication Winter 2018-2019

Andreas Steindl should be proud. On August 27th, this Alpine guide set a new record for the ascent of the Matterhorn leaving from the Place de l’église, beating the previous four-hour record with a time of 3 hours, 59 minutes and 52 seconds. The occasion also marked him beating his own personal record time between the Hörnlihütte and the summit (1 hour, 45 minutes and 37 seconds), a record that would be beaten once again just two weeks later when he was accompanied by Italian François Cazzanelli. Their goal was to climb the Matterhorn in one day via its four ridges (Hörnli, Furgg, Zmutt and Lion) and they did it in a record time of 16 hours and 4 minutes. Only two other alpinists in history have already achieved this feat in 1992… but it took them 23 hours and 30 minutes. Andreas Steindl knows the Matterhorn like the back of his hand: he’s climbed it now 93 times (and the first time was with his parents when he was 14 years old!).